Here’s a Halloween treat for Dangerous Minds readers: one of my all-time favorite Roman Polanski movies, The Fearless Vampire Killers.

Polanski directed and stars in this delightfully warped horror/comedy which features his stunningly beautiful wife Sharon Tate and the very funny Jack MacGowran. When it was released in the USA in 1967 (in a version butchered by MGM Studios),The Fearless Vampire Killers was ignored by audiences and trashed by film critics. But over the years, the film has developed a cult following and has been subject to critical revision that has shifted in Polanski’s favor. FVK may not be in the same league as Polanski’s masterpieces, but it is highly entertaining and beautifully crafted.

Anyone who is a fan of the lushly produced and oftentimes sexy vampire movies that came out of Hammer Studios in the Sixties will appreciate Polanski’s highly-stylized Technicolor take on Transylvania with its elegantly decadent vampires flitting through gorgeously gothic boudoirs and ballrooms.

The Fearless Vampire Killers presented in its uncut European version:
 

 
Nearly a half-hour of pro-shot footage from Neil Young’s Bridge School benefit concert including the finale with Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Dave Matthews, Devendra Banhart, Eddie Vedder and Beck.
 

 
Via Exile on Moan Street

 
Getting in the mood for Halloween…Pan’s People bring their own special something to Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett’s “Monster Mash”.
 

 
It’s getting near Halloween, and what better to celebrate than watching writer and film-maker, Shade Rupe‘s excellent short film T is for Trick.

So impressive is Shade’s film that the legendary horror writer and director, Clive Barker sent Shade a note of his approval:

Hey there Shade,

That was an elegantly shot, sharply edited and strongly conceived and directed four minutes of film-making. Colour me impressed. You managed to imply a whole range of character options for us, from which entirely plausible narrative solutions spilled. Very fine, courageous work from you and your actors. I hit the heart to say I’d been there. I hope it helps and i will certainly make sure my guys do the same.

Bloody good work, my friend.

Clive

Who could disagree with Mr Barker? But judge for yourself, and if you like, then you might like to vote for Mr Rupe’s success, by ‘hitting the Heart Vote button’. You will not be disappointed.

Check here to vote for Shade’s film T is for Trick to be included in the ABCs of Death.
 

 
Morning of the Tarantulas is a bizarre, short film from Imperium Pictures, starring Bruce Benderson and Orlando DeLuca, and directed by Philip Weaver.
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds

Ken Russell is Aleister Crowley

 
With thanks to Judith Rosenberg
 

 
The legendary disc jockey, TV presenter and charity fund-raiser, Sir Jimmy Savile has died at the age of 84, at his home in Leeds, England.

Savile who was a major star of British TV and radio, was best known as host of Top of the Pops from the 1960s-2006, and his own highly successful show Jim’ll Fix It, where Savile fixed it for selected viewers to have their dreams come true. At its height the show received over 20,000 letters a week, asking to have their dreams fulfilled.

Savile with his distinct blonde hair, clunky jewelry, track suit and trademark cigar, was a genuine maverick and one-off. Born on 31 October 1926, Savile was widely acknowledged as the world’s first disc jockey, pioneering the use of twin-turntables, and continuous play “discos” during the 1940s and 1950s.

He was a Bevin Boy during the Second World War, conscripted as a coal miner, Savile worked down the pit at the South Kirkby Colliery, West Yorkshire. After the war he continued deejaying, and also took up a career as a wrestler, which, at one point, made him the highest paid wrestler in the world. He later claimed wrestling led to his breaking every bone in his body.

During the 1950s, Savile continued with music and ran several clubs throughout England, bringing rock and pop music to generations of youngsters.

By the 1960s, Savile was the most visible and best known disc jockey on radio and TV, promoting Beat, R’n’B, Motown, Northern Soul, Heavy Metal and Glam Rock over the years.

Apart from music, Savile worked tirelessly for charity, running over 200 marathons, and raising £40 million.
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds

Jarvis Cocker meets legendary ‘Top of the Pops’ DJ Jimmy Savile

 
An incredible excerpt from an interview between psychiatrist, R. D. Laing and theater director, Joseph Chaikin, where the pair mimic each other by pulling faces. This reminds Laing of the only present his father gave his mother - a box filled with a complete set his father’s toe nail clippings.
 

 
Roast-master general Jeffrey Ross takes some timely humor to the people of Occupy Los Angeles.
 

 
I love what this guy says here.

Plus one!
 

 
Via Glen E. Friedman

 
Since it’s acknowledged by Noam Chomsky in the trailer that today he’s very nearly a forgotten figure, I don’t feel that ashamed over my admittedly near total lack of awareness of Paul Goodman. Having said that, I saw posters for Paul Goodman Changed My Life at Occupy Wall Street, dialed up the trailer online and now I can’t wait to see it:

Paul Goodman’s 1960 best-seller, Growing Up Absurd, became a cornerstone of countercultural thinking, alongside books like The Medium Is The Message, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and The Feminine Mystique. Goodman was a polymath: a poet, essayist, playwright, and psychotherapist. He was candid about his bisexuality while maintaining a marriage and raising two children. Jonathan Lee weaves together old and new footage of those who extol Goodman’s virtues, as well as his adamant detractors (often one and the same), including Grace Paley, Ned Rorem, Deborah Meier, William F. Buckley, Susan Sontag, and Judith Malina. An abrasive and contradictory figure, Goodman’s influence was nonetheless immense. Today, much of what passes as common knowledge in the fields of education, politics, psychology, urban planning, civil rights, and sexual politics was first posited by him nearly half a century ago.

Paul Goodman Changed My Life directed by Jonathan Lee is screening currently at Film Forum in New York. Check here for upcoming screenings across the country.
 

 
Click here (if you dare) to enlarge the image.

Reminds me of John Brill’s work or Jacob’s Ladder....

(via the NSFW-ish Twisted Vintage )

 
So buzzed was I by the reaction to my first Disco Argento mix (downloads maxed out on Soundcloud* - thanks guys!) that I decided to go digging through the vault of horror/disco cash-in records yet again to put together a follow-up. And so I give you… Disco Argento 2: The Sequel! As with most sequels, it feeds heavily off the original’s success while boldly pushing the concept into uncharted waters (the 1980s). I feel as if this time I got to truly express my vision, though it could be argued that I am over-indulging myself (twelve minutes of Pat Hodges?!).

I’m pretty chuffed to be able to put a few real gems on this mix - tracks like Stelvio Cipriani’s theme for Tentacles (actually called “Too Risky A Day For A Regatta”), Riz Ortolani’s energetic jazz-funk workout “Drinking Coco” from Cannibal Holocaust and the simply divine “New York One More Day” by Franisco DiMasi from the score for Lucio Fulci’s The New York Ripper (possibly the only passable excuse for that super sleazy film to exist). What is with these Italians and their fabulous soundtracks? It’s also the second appearance of the day for DM pal Matt Berry, heard here in his Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace guise as Todd Rivers, with an electrifying remix of his ode to thwarted passion “One Track Lover”. Here’s the tracklist in full:

NOSTROMO Alien
GOBLIN Tenebre
FABIO FRIZZI Zombi 2 (aka Zombie Flesh Eaters)
FRANCISCO DI MASI New York One More Day (Disco Beard edit)
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ Police Station Assault
RIZ ORTOLANI Il Corpo Di Linda
TODD RIVERS One Track Lover (Synthia Remix)
FAT BOYS Are You Ready For Freddy?
FRANCIS HAINES The Trioxin Theme (aka Return Of The Living Dead Theme)
JOHN CARPENTER & ALAN HOWARTH The Duke Arrives/Barricade/Snake dialog
PAT HODGES Fly By Night (Midnight Mix)
RIZ ORTOLANI Drinking Coco
STELVIO CIPRIANI Tentacoli (aka Tentacles)
THE CHAMP’S BOYS ORCHESTRA Tubular Bells (Cosmic Mix)
 

  Disco Argento 2: The Sequel! by theniallist
 
BONUS!
An excellent trailer re-edit by Orgasmo Sonore of Stelvio Cipriani’s Tentacoli:
 

 
*You can now download Disco Argento Vol 1 here:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/eg1dcw

 
Wow, the bullshit people can convince themselves of… These disturbing videos of a woman who did an extreme fast for “spiritual reasons” (and to “help others”???) were posted over at Cynical-C and this lady is truly tweaked. She seems quite, um, “happy,” true, but she looks like the re-animated zombie cadaver of a recently deceased meth-head. This can’t be good for your health…
 

I am beginning a 40 day fast, and if possible, the 1st 40 day fast of 3 separate, consecutive 40 day, water only fasts. (A water fast is one in which only water is consumed.) These three water fasts will be separated by 7 days of eating – (the days of Passover Week) – so the 3 fasts will consist of a 40 day fast before Passover Week and a 40 day fast immediately following Passover Week. While breaking the fast during Passover, only “Kosher for Passover” foods will be eaten. After this, there will be a 40 day fast following four days of eating during Shavuot/Pentecost. I post this information with every video.

I am fasting for spiritual reasons, the primary motivations being to become the woman G-d wants me to be, to know and do what He wants me to do, and to, in general, become the person He wants me to become. I am NOT doing this for the purposes of weight loss, cleansing, experimentation, record setting, health, or for any other non-religious alterior motive. Nor am I doing this for anyone else, though other individuals have asked me to pray for certain things during this time.

Why would God give a shit if you fasted anyways?

Here she is after her THIRD consecutive 40 day fast. WTF?!?!
 

 
Country music legend Porter Wagoner recorded several quasi-concept albums based around social problems like homelessness, alcoholism, prison life, infidelity and murder (Wagoner even sang of insanity in his berserk classic, “Rubber Room.”)

On albums like Confessions of a Broken Man, Soul of a Convict & Other Great Prison Songs and The Cold Hard Facts of Life, Wagoner, who normally sang more conventional fare, plumbed quite lurid depths for such a beloved hillbilly entertainer.

His alter ego, for this material was often a character called “Skid Row Joe” who made several appearances on Wagoner’s syndicated television show in 60s and 70s.(“Skid Row Joe” wore hobo attire that made it easy to tell him apart from the flashy entertainer with the blond pompadour and glitzy Nudie-tailored stage-wear).

This song is about “Skid Row Joe,” who some have claimed was modeled after troubled honky tonk singer Lefty Frizzell.
 

 
Found at the mighty PCL Linkdump

 
Well, this certainly looks interesting. It’s a trailer for the forthcoming serial Danger 5, which follows the adventures of an elite espionage unit formed to do battle with Hitler and his gold-munching dinosaur robots. Or something. Even though the setting is World War 2 by way of the swinging 60s, Danger 5 has more than a hint of Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace about it - in fact, is that Matt Berry doing the voiceover?
 

 
Danger 5 debuts on YouTube on November 21st. For more info(including a peak at the Danger 5 Monthly magazine) visit www.danger5.tv.